If your spouse agrees, you can file together and the court will (usually) schedule a Zoom hearing to enter the judgment of divorce. It can be easy if you file jointly (as a 1A divorce).

From a practical standpoint, even though he was granted visits, how often is he going to be able to travel from Maryland to Massachusetts for a 6-hour visit? You may want to wait and see how things go. Judges usually give parents the opportunity to show they can parent successfully, but if it... Read more »

I am not a guardianship expert, but you can obtain a copy of the order appointing the guardian from the register's office in the county where the case was filed. That order/decree will detail the powers granted to the guardian.

It is hard to say without reviewing the specific order, but a judge would probably look at your ex's intent, but also if that cancellation harmed you or the child in any way. If your ex took the child to a different scheduled appointment and the doctor offered to give your son the second... Read more »

You can file a Complaint for Modification and ask that your child support be terminated by the court. If you believe it should be terminated, you should file as soon as possible because a judge can only order it to be adjusted retroactively as far back as there is a pending Complaint for... Read more »

Most likely it is just an error by the registry unless there has been a recent filing. You could contact the registry for the county where the divorce occurred and ask them to close it, but probably not worth the effort as there is no consequence to the "active" designation if there is no... Read more »

Unfortunately for you, probably not. If your daughter returns to your ex-wife's home for school breaks, that would still likely be considered her primary residence. You could always agree with your ex-wife to reduce the child support payment based on your daughter going to boarding school, but... Read more »

It depends on the type of hearing. If it was a divorce trial where child support was just one of many issues, it would take a few (or more) months. If it was a hearing where DOR was seeking support on the other parent's behalf, it should be much quicker. It also depends on the county you are... Read more »

I am actually not sure whether your wife could adopt a child solely while you are married, but another lawyer with expertise in adoption may be able to answer that.

Regarding an agreement to waive child support, however, that is definitely not possible. The courts view child support as... Read more »

Unfortunately, it depends. For purposes of alimony, the duration of marriage is calculated as the date of marriage through the date of service of the Complaint for Divorce. So, if your ex-spouse filed on March 19, 2021, it would be whatever date after that you were actually served with the divorce... Read more »

It sounds like you have a good argument for modification. If you think your ex will retaliate, just be sure you really want to kick the hornet's nest. If your kids are doing well with the current arrangement, it may be worth it to suck it up even though you feel she is taking advantage of you.... Read more »

You would either need to file for divorce or file a Complaint for Separate Support if you do not want to file for divorce.

With either of those, you can file a motion for temporary orders, which would include child support and anything else you would want a judge to address on a temporary... Read more »

The ex-husband can't unilaterally make changes to child support, no matter the reason. It can only be done via a court order. That court order could be the result of a written agreement by the parties to make changes or from a judge after a hearing, but the ex would be in contempt if he just... Read more »

Usually, a retroactive order can only go back as far as the date the opposing party was served with the complaint for child support. If there has never been an order previously, you may have the ability to argue for retroactive support back to the child's date of birth, but it would depend if... Read more »

You should have the police do a wellness check at the grandmother's home and they would document that the child wasn't there. And/or you could also have them do a wellness check at the girlfriend's house to confirm the child is there and who is present. You should also take... Read more »

I would just add that if you do return to court, you should ask for child support to be ordered. Even if there is no realistic hope of him ever paying, it may be enough of a deterrent to keep him at a distance. There is no connection between custody and child support, so even if he is ordered to... Read more »

You should first contact the Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement Division and have them review your account. Sometimes if there is an arrears balance the amount changes. If you have no arrears, it is possible that the timing of the payments got off track somewhere and they needed to... Read more »

If you haven't heard anything from the court yet, I would recommend contacting the Register's office and trying to find out if there is a reason it hasn't been processed.

If you have already served the other party, make sure you have returned the summons to the court and... Read more »

You should contact MA DOR - Child Support Enforcement Division to confirm, but your ongoing payments should not be impacted by any overpayments if there is an arrears balance. Any overpayment should be applied to the oldest outstanding payment. It is possible he received a tax return that was... Read more »

If there was a prior order for child support that the dad isn't following, you could file a Complaint for Contempt. If there was no prior order, you would need to file a Complaint to Establish Paternity or a Complaint for Custody Support and Parenting Time.

You can contact the... Read more »